The was up eight points or 0.32% to 2,784.38 as of 9:41 AM ET (13:41 GMT) while the composite increased 77 points or 0.31% to 25,278.83 and tech heavy rose over 40 points or 0.53% to 7,736.31.

The number of people who filed for in the U.S. last week fell more than expected, by 4,000 to 218,000. A separate report showed that U.S. retail sales rose for the third consecutive month.

Both reports supported the case for more interest-rates before the end of the year.

Meanwhile the Federal Reserve increased interest rates for the second time this year on Wednesday, while the European Central Bank announced it would end its bond purchasing program by the end of the year.

Tesla (NASDAQ:) was among the top gainers after the morning bell, rising 1.28% while Netflix (NASDAQ:) gained 1.54% and Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:) surged 22.22% after the e-commerce site announced higher transaction fees for sellers.

In Europe stocks were mostly up. Germanys rose 132 points or 1.03% while in France the increased 61 points or 1.13% and in London, the was up 41 points or 0.54%. Meanwhile the pan-European gained 26 points or 0.76% while Spains inched up 19 points or 0.20%.

In commodities, rose 0.55% to $1,308.40 troy ounce while futures increased 0.38% to $66.89 a barrel. The , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.64 % to 94.16.

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